Ullr is a very old god of the northern lands, so old that by the time the Iron Age Norse myths were written down, not much more was known about him except that he was a god of archery, hunting, and the winter. His name occurs so frequently as part of Scandinavian place-names that he must have been a much more important deity at one time. He was shown frequently with skates or skis on his feet, and because of this he has been hailed as the modern God of Skiing.